Improvement in automatic reels for clothes-lines



W.FARRAH. AUTOMATIC REEL FOR GLOTHES LINE. No. 106,146.

- Patented Aug. 9, 1870.

WI LLIA M-FA RRAH, cranes MOINES, mm..-

mrsovnmem' 1N (LUIOMA'IIC REELS roR-cLo'rnes-Lmns.

. ,lfhSchedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part ofthe same I, WILLIAM Famine, of Des Moines, in 'the county of Polk andState of Iowa, have invented certain Improvements in Reels for Lines, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention consists in placing oneor more reels in ajbox, or itsequiya-lenhin such annanner that, h when the line upon the reel isdrawn-out, anotherline with a weight attached will, by the same, action,be

wound upon a shaft in the reyerse direction, sothat, when the weightdescends, it will draw in the first line and wind it upon the reelagain.

The drawing is arpcrspectire view of two different reels in onebo'x,with lines upon them ready for use.

- A A A represent three sides of the box, and the bottom and front ofthehox open. 13 B is the roofthe bor'c. f 1 2 is a singIei-eel upon ashaft. The reel may be hollow and play upon a, fixed shaft,

or it may have 'journals upon its ends, and bearings or boxing, uponwhich the journals will play. One

*fonrthof the length} of the reel is reduced in circum- M ference. Thediam'eteu of :theij small end is only one fourth the diameter oftheyiarge end. It requires onlyone foot of line on the small end to;operate four feet on the large end; This difference." may be increasedor decreased, as desired. 1 The line with the weight attached is woundtoward the 'right, and the.

other the reverse way. The drawing shows only one a line, and representsit passing, through a hoie in the lri n or shoulder, which forms adivision of thereel. This hole serves asa fastening for the line, andalso i affords a means of regulatingthe length of that part of thelinethat'is drawn outlfor use. A separate line for theweight' nay be usedornot, as desired.

a a. is a double reel, with partremovcd, placed above 'thesingle reel Iis the detached andgsinall part of it. a i c is afdisk", ysecurcd-on'the right end of the reel.

Tbisdisk has roections on its outside surface which P i 1 -catch orinterlock with corresponding projections on [the disk, upon the detachedred] I).

dis a disk, secured to the left end of the reel. A

pinion'is attached to this disk, and may be cast solid with the disk.

c is a cog-wheel on the end of the shaft f, and conneots'with thepinion. w

To operate this double reel, a line with a weight attached is wound uponthe shaft fl Another line is attached to the reel (0 u. The gravity ofthe weight will turn the shaft and the cog or drive-wheel, andcommuuicatemotion to the reel through the pinion. This action will windthe line- 'upon the reel. Drawing out the line will reverse the actionand wind up the weighted line. The detached partof the reel is loose'upon the shaft, and may be shifted, so that it can move independently.The line is fastened to'this, and as much can be wound upon itas isnecessary to regulate the amount of line to be used. By passing itthrough the hole in the disk 0 the two reels will be drawn together, andthe projections will interlock.

By this combination I provide a complete and simple means of taking upand regulating the length of the line, to be used.

The; box and the reels may vary in form and size,

-and be adapted for holding, .operating, and protecting clothes-lines,or any line, strap, rope, chain, or cord that needs to be stretched outfor use.

I am-aware that there is nothing new in the mechanism of my reels,excepting the peculiar manner in which they are shaped, combined, andoperated.

' Claim.

. I claim as myinventiona The covered box A A A, or its equivalent, thesingle reel 1'2, the double reel to c with its detached part b, the disk0 with a hole and catches, the disk d with a pinion attached,the'drive-wheel e, the shaft f, 1

